


When A Good Man Goes To War

by seeingintechnicolor



Series: When Darkness Won [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-01 15:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4025920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seeingintechnicolor/pseuds/seeingintechnicolor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel to my 5-part oneshot.</p><p>Oliver Queen is dead. Al Sahhim was born. When Felicity Smoak was killed, Oliver sacrificed himself so that she could live. Now he is head of the League of Assassins. Left with just Roy and Laurel, Team Arrow was forced to move on and find a new way to continue. 7 months have passed since Oliver left and Felicity is determined to remind him of who he really is. But it won't be easy...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Picking Up The Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!
> 
> This is a sequel to Pitfall and while it is not necessary to read it first I still suggest that you do! This an AU where instead of Thea dying it was Felicity and they didn't drive off into the sunset. Roy did not 'die' and Thea is not taking his place.  
> I don't know how often I'll be able to update over the summer but I will try. Nevertheless, here is the first chapter of When A Good Man Goes To War!

“He’s almost to the dock! You can cut him off if you take a left!” Felicity yelled instructions into Roy’s ear as he was in pursuit of a diamond thief. 

He was riding his bike down Warner Street towards Dock 52. The thief had stolen 2 million in diamonds from a bank deposit box last week, and it had taken Team Arrow all week to find his location. Even Felicity’s superior hacking skills were no match for this thief’s ability to hide.

She could hear as Roy caught up to the man, punches and kicks being audible through the earpiece. The comm went silent for a moment then Roy began to speak. 

“Got him Felicity. He put up a fight but he’s down. Tell Lance to come and get him.” As he stopped speaking he took a moment to look out to sea from the dock. It was a quiet night, this thief being the only real action over the past week. Other than a few attempted robberies, which he stopped before they happened, Roy was not fighting as much as he used to. Sure there was still crime, but after years of the Arrow taking down criminals, they finally started getting the message. 

As Lance arrived at the scene, he began walking towards Roy as the other two cops put the thief in the back of their squad car.

“Harper! Or should I say Arsenal…”He said, a smug look on his face. A few months after the death of Sara, Lance had finally put the pieces together and realized it was Roy under the red hood.

“Captain,” Roy replied as he put his hood down. They shook hands and turned towards the other cops who were now driving away.

“Nice one kid. You’re getting better at this. It would've taken us weeks without your team’s help.” 

“Well that’s why I do this. I help when I can.” Roy replied, acknowledging his compliment. 

“You’re almost as good as our other leather clad friend.” He paused. “How is he by the way? I haven't seen him around.” 

Roy felt a twinge of pain. Not physical but emotional. After Oliver left, it was hard for Team Arrow to find a new way of operating without their star player, but they found a way. Lance could never know what was really going on so he lied. 

“He is otherwise occupied and I don’t know when he’s coming back.” 

“Well as long as this city has you and my daughter, we’ll be okay. Goodnight kid.” Lance began walking back to his car and Roy to his bike.  
Right before Quentin got into his car, he yelled, “Hey kid!” Roy looked up. “You take care of yourself okay?” Roy nodded, and with that they both drove away. 

As he drove Roy thought of Lance’s advice. He had been under the hood a lot more since Oliver left. Although Laurel was out here too, he felt a sense of obligation when it came to crime fighting. He had made a promise to Oliver before he left. He would protect the city in his absence, and he intended to keep that promise. Oliver was the only father figure that Roy had in his life and it didn’t occur until know how much Roy had changed since he met him. To be more precise, when he met the Arrow. Meeting the Arrow changed his life. He turned his life around from petty thief to vigilante in just two short years. All because of him.

Heading back to the Lair, Roy made a stop at his apartment, gathering a few things to take back to the club, until he felt a presence. He put his hand on an arrow from his back, ready to fire. 

“Jesus! Roy put the bow down!” It was Thea. She was covering her face with her hands, scared out of her wits. 

“Sorry.” He put his down and took his quiver off of his back. “I don’t like being snuck up on!” 

“Yeah I can tell. I didn’t mean to scare you. I heard you come in and I didn’t realize you were still all…” She gestured to his outfit, pointing out that he was still dressed in his red suit.

“I just needed to change, take some things to the club and then I would’ve come back.” He replied.

“Roy its 3 o'clock in the morning. You need to rest.” She put a hand on his arm, pleading with him to stay. “I know it’s hard without Oliver out there but you need to stop pushing yourself. You don’t sleep, you barely eat, you look at me and all I see is pain. Oliver wouldn’t want this for you. It was his life not yours.”

“Well someone needs to be out there helping. I can do it. I’m okay.” He assured, not too sure of his statement in the back off his mind.

“Laurel is out there too. She can handle it. Take a day. We can relax and if you really want to, you can go back in a day or two. Okay?” she asked

“Fine. Let me get changed.” He sighed, giving her a quick peck on the cheek and heading towards his bedroom. 

He decided the text felicity, letting her know he wouldn’t be coming back tonight.

Hey,  
Decided to stay home for a day or two. Don’t miss me too much. Tell Laurel I said Hi.  
~ R  
Okay,  
Relax. You need it. I’ll call if it’s urgent…  
~ F

He changed into a pair of black pair of sweat and his red hoodie. He found Thea in the living room, sitting on the couch reading a book. 

“Sit.” She tapped the seat next to her, motioning him to come over. “ I am reading you this book of poems and you are going to love it…” He sat down, reclining on the arm of the couch and listened. 

She cleared her throat and began to read, “Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun. When a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies. Night will fall and the dark will rise. When a good man goes to war…”  
He closed his eyes and fell asleep before she finished.


	2. To Live And Let Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay my next chapter is up!!  
> The next chapters will hopefully be up soon. i used these two to establish how the team is dealing with the loss but I promise we will get to the story soon.
> 
> ~L

Felicity spun around in her chair, facing Laurel as she cam down the steps after a night of patrols. 

“Did Roy get him?” Laurel asked as she placed her bo staff in her glass case.

“Yup. Our jewel thief is now behind bars.” She stood up from her chair, crossing her arms. “Your father picked him at the dock.”

“Good.” She pulled back at the mention of her father, their relationship still strained because of Sara's death. “I’m just going to go change. I’ll be back.” Felicity sat back down in her chair and listened to the silence. 

Ever since that night 7 months ago, when Oliver left, she couldn't stop but wonder what he was doing at any moment in time. Was he okay? Was he in pain? Was he still the man she loved? Part of her knew the answer to the last question, but she wanted to deny for as long as she could…

Laurel pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Felicity? Earth to Felicity!” Laurel bunched her eyebrows, a look of confusion crossing her face. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Felicity decided to lie. "Yeah. I was just thinking about you. And your father..." 

She sighed, crossing her arms. "He's not ready to forgive me. I tried to explain to him why I didn’t tell him about Sara. But he’s hurt. I can understand why he won’t want to talk to me…” 

“That doesn’t mean that you should stop trying. I know it’s not anywhere near what you have with your father but… I had a strained relationship with my mother for years. She always wanted me to be someone that I wasn’t. But no matter what happened she was still my mom, and eventually we sorted out our problems. You father is the same. He cares about you and I’m sure if you give it a chance he will forgive you… “ Felicity moved from her seat and walked towards Laurel. 

“Thank you Felicity.” Laurel pulled her in for a hug. They had grown close over the last few months, uniting over their grief and becoming a team inside and out of the Foundry. 

“Go home Laurel. Get some rest…” Felicity said

“What about you?” Laurel asked.

“I’ll be leaving soon, I just have some things to finish,” she said. 

Laurel could sense she was lying but decided to go along with, realizing how hard the last few months had been for her friend. “Okay… Goodnight Felicity.” She gave her one last hug, grabbed her purse, and headed up the stairs.

Felicity went back to her chair, not actually having anything to do. She turned to Oliver’s glass case. His Arrow suit was still in it, untouched since he left. She didn't have the heart to get it out, fearing that holding it would make his absence real. Undeniable. 

Slowly she walked toward the case and touched the worn leather. She had always wondered how Oliver could run around, much less fight in leather. She always imagined it would be tough. As she lifted it off the dummy, she realized how light and airy it actually was. It was actually quite comfortable, the inside being warm and the hood being oversized, at least for her it was. She closed her eyes, imagining what it would like to run around the night, putting arrows in bad guys, being a hero. Felicity knew her importance to the team, but sometimes she felt she could do more. With everyone else in the team out there and her in here, she felt left out at times. 

Felicity stood there in the center of the Foundry. wearing the oversized green hood over her small body. She could still smell the faint scent of his shampoo. Still remember all the times that they would discuss their plans for the night in this small dark place. All the times she would patch him up after a particularly rough night. 

To be honest in the last few months she spent more time in the Foundry than at work or at home. Ray had left Starling city shortly after Oliver, making her CEO of the newly renamed ‘Queen Incorporated’. When she wasn't at work she was here. She didn't go home because she couldn’t sleep. Perhaps it was the stress of being brought back from the dead or the pain of losing Oliver that drove her over the edge but sleeping only brought on the nightmares. 

Sometimes she would see her father leaving again and again. Other times she would see her mother dying in front of her. Or mostly she would see Roy and Oliver fighting. And Oliver would win, leaving Roy brutally beaten. She would wake up in a panic, sweating under her blankets. She would open her window and stare into the stars, trying to calm herself. When she couldn’t go back to bed, which was more often than not, she would go here. Back to the darkness of the Foundry. Wishing for things to go back to the way they were. When all they had to worry about were thugs robbing little old ladies, not Assassins threatening to kill everything, and Mirakuru soldiers almost leveling the city.

It wasn’t until 3am that Felicity left the small, familiar place and went home to a fitful 5 hours of sleep.

Across town, John Diggle was awake, caring for his 1 year old daughter. After feeding her and changing her, he too lie awake in his bed. The last few months had made him reconsider his life, watching how Oliver sacrificed everything to save others. In that time he remarried his ex-wife and saw a newfound appreciation for normalcy. 

He hadn’t been in the Foundry for weeks, refusing to go back because of the loss of Oliver. Sure he still kept in touch with Felicity but he didn’t want to fight without his best friend. To be completely honest Oliver was more than that. When he first met Oliver, he believed him to be no more than a spoiled rich kid with Daddy issues. But with time, he got to know him, becoming his partner in his crusade. Now as Oliver was gone, Diggle felt as if Oliver was his brother, a feeling he thought he’d never have again after the death of his brother.

Now that he had a daughter, Diggle had put new meaning on his life. He was happier than ever with his daughter and new wife. But he would never forget his best friend’s sacrifice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please like/leave a comment if you fancy...


	3. Flashbacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry i haven't updated in what seems like years! Life happens and I haven't had time to write. I put this up because it seemed like I couldn't put it off anymore.

Al Sah-Him sat in the back of the cargo plane, on his way to take care of league business in Coast City. After the death of his predecessor, he had been on the trail of a man named Damien Darhk. He tracked him all over the east coast, eventually ending up in the city. He spoke in a low, booming voice as the plane landed at Ferris Air.

“Find him, but don’t kill him! He’s mine…” They all ran in groups of 4. Al Sah-Him was alone, running towards a building in the distance. As he searched the rooms he was prepared to shoot, an arrow in his bow. 

A shadow moved in the corner of his eye and in seconds he was running towards it. It didn’t take long for him to catch up, the shadow was much slower and not agile. He knocked the shadow in the back and had it on its knees. He pointed an arrow at the shadow’s heart…

“Turn around.” 

The man turned around, his hands behind his head. “Please don’t shoot me! I haven’t done anything!” The man began to cry, 

“DON’T PLAY DUMB! YOU’RE DAMIEN DARHK!” he yelled, his arrow still pointed at the man. 

“I don’t know any Damien! Some guy paid me to wait here and run from anyone who came. I swear its the truth.” He still had his hands in the air, his face covered in tears and fear.

Al Sah-Him looked at the man for a moment, contemplating his answer. Then he shot him through the heart. One clean arrow right through his chest. As he turned around and began walking out of the building, he heard the man breathe for the last time. 

“Too bad you won’t get to use that money.”

He was a coldblooded killer, never regretting the lives he took. He didn’t care about the lives of other people. Even the lives of the assassins under his control seemed expendable. All he cared about was making sure that people he came across would fear him. 

The only other thing he cared about were the dreams that haunted him as he slept. He knew he had a life before he became Al Sah-Him but he couldn’t remember it. But at night he would see people that he didn’t know. Sometimes it would be a young man dressed in red. Other times he would see a older man, fighting along him against faceless monsters. Most of the time, and these were the ones that bothered him, he would see a woman. He would talking to her and discussing something but all he could remember of her was her face. The soft pale skin and her bright lipstick. Out of all his dreams, the ones she was in were the most vivid. When he would wake up from his dreams he would see her still in his mind. Her memory was oddly comforting. Amidst the darkness of his life she was his light. A woman he couldn’t even remember brought happiness into his life.

He called his teams back to the plane, telling them that Damien was gone. 

It wasn’t until two weeks later that Al Sah-Him would find his enemy again in the one place that might tell him who he was before the darkness took over.

Meanwhile…

Felicity was driving home from a particularly uneventful night. Roy and Laurel were still out, but they had told her to go home. She picked up some groceries on her way home, just something small so she could cook tonight. She opened the door and kicked off her shoes, placing her bags on the table in her kitchen. She left to the bedroom, changing into pajamas and washing off her makeup. It wasn’t until it was all gone that she realized how much off the last few months had shown on her face. Her eyes had a permanent redness, her skin had become paler than it already was. She had tried to remain cheery like she normally was but to no avail. 

It was clear that he friends were catching on, asking her if she was okay whenever she was silent and working at her computers. She gripped the side of the sink and walked back into her kitchen. Felicity made herself some dinner. When she finished she turned off the tv, put her dishes in the sink and head to her bed. Even though she was tired , she didn’t sleep for hours. She just lay there, staring at her ceiling. It wasn’t until she realized that it was 3:00 in the morning that she finally gave up on sleeping and went for a run. She knew it was dark out and normally that would scare her but with Roy and Laurel out, she’d be safe. 

She ran into Roy, who was handing off of mugger to policeman outside his car.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you at home?” He stood there very stern, arms crossed and bow slung on his back.

“I couldn’t sleep. I haven’t actually for a while.” 

Roy loosened up a bit at hearing that, coming over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Why haven’t you told any of us?”

“We’ve all had to deal with different things since Oliver… left. I didn’t want anyone to worry about me. I don’t know if it’s because I lost him or if its side effects of the Pit but sleeping just brings nightmares and i can’t… oh god.” She began to hyperventilate. She tried to breathe but the air just wasn’t coming.

“Felicity! Calm down. Felicity breathe!” He held her in his lap, trying to calm her down and get her to breathe normally. 

“Its horrible. She’s dying. He shot her and now he’s leaving. Her blood is all over the place and he just doesn’t care! And you...you're fighting but he..." And then she started screaming and crying at the same time. 

"Blondie stop! You're safe! You're okay!" He held her up as she continued to cry, her wrists held in his hands to try keep her still as he held her against his chest, trying to comfort her. 

"No! It's not okay! It's real! He's gone and dead!" She had given up trying to get out of his grip, she was easily overpowered by him although they were almost the same size. 

"Okay I'm going to get you home. We'll talk about this in the morning. Right now we need to get out of this street before people start noticing." He helped her up and half carried her back to her apartment.

They walked along the damp sidewalk, saying nothing in an attempt to process what had happened. Roy had never seen Felicity like this. She was usually calm, only unhinged when something went horribly wrong on a mission. But this was different. Something that she had been holding back for some time now and for some reason she felt the need to bottle to it all up. He wanted to ask her more but he felt as if this was something better discussed at a later time.

At first Roy was scared to walk right through her front door in full his Arsenal getup but he had no other choice. He had to get Felicity home and calm her down. By the time she sat down on her couch she had calmed down significantly but her face stilled looked like she had seen a ghost. Her pulse was way out of what was normal and Roy went to her kitchen to get her a glass of water. 

Her hands clutched a cushion beside her as her knuckles went white, refusing the glass of water that Roy offered her. Roy unzipped his jacket and took off his quiver. He put a hand to her back and allowed her to rest against his shoulder, not sure of what to say. He waited until her breathing began to sound even and then spoke.

“I don’t know what you are going through but whenever you are ready to talk … I’ll be there to listen. I just want you to know that I’m here and you’re safe.” 

The room stayed silent for a moment and then Felicity replied, “Okay”

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment/like if you fancy!


End file.
